Michel Gentile/Anders Nillson/David Ambrosio/Dan Kurfirst
April 5 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Wide Open Works (WOW) at Ibeam Brooklyn presents:
Saturday, April 5, 2025, 8:00pm
GENTILE-NILSSON-AMBROSIO-
Michel Gentile – flute, alto flute, bass flute, piccolo
Anders Nilsson – guitar
Dave Ambrosio – bass
Dan Kurfirst – drums
Ibeam Brooklyn
168 7th Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11215
$20 admission
about the artists:
MICHEL GENTILE
Michel Gentile’s “rich, deep tone is a rare achievement amongst flutists.” His “mastery of the flute” make him “amongst the best flutists” of the New York jazz scene. He received his Master of Music degree with distinction from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Jimmy Giuffre, Dave Holland, Geri Allen, Mick Goodrick, and George Garzone. Michel has appeared on record with Ray Charles, Anthony Braxton, Dave Kikoski, Bobby Previte, Jane Ira Bloom, Michael Formanek, and Adam Rudolph. He has performed with Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Fred Hersch, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Joseph Jarman, Yusef Lateef, and many others. Michel has been a longtime member of WORKS, Go Organic Orchestra, Gentile-Romano, Wildebeest Wind Quintet. He also leads his own groups; FLOW, Michel Gentile Quartet and Michel Gentile Trio.
Michel has studied composition with George Russell, John Heiss and Muhal Richard Abrams. He is especially proud to have studied with Donna Doyle. Michel has composed for everything from solo instruments to a quintet with flute and string quartet and a triple concerto for flute, piano and drums with chamber orchestra. He has composed for radio, television and film media. His compositions have been featured on Seize the Moment (1994), Trapeze Contortionist (2001), Red Balloon (2005), Flesh and Steel (2008) and Rock, Paper, Scissors (2011) by Gentile-Romano. His release with the collaborative ensemble WORKS was named one of the “best albums of 2013” by Downbeat. Downbeat also named him in the “Talent Deserving Wider Recognition” category.
Michel has worked extensively with dance, theater, and film, most notably with the remarkable ensemble” Strike Anywhere”, and has been featured on national radio and television throughout North America and Europe.
Michel has been co-director of the non-profit organization Connection Works since 2007. Connection Works’ acclaimed concert series, Wide Open Works, has presented an outstanding array of jazz musicians, including jazz legends Sheila Jordan, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Billy Hart, John Abercrombie, Joseph Jarman and Cecil McBee and has consistently received New York Times critic’s picks. He also curates a concert series of solo improvisers at 440 Gallery, Brooklyn since 2015.
ANDERS NILSSON
“Swedish-born and New York-based experimental guitarist Anders Nilsson produces music that is at once bracingly direct and utterly unclassifiable.” – Matt Miller, tuneOUToptIN.
As an electric, acoustic, and 11-string alto guitarist, he has performed at festivals and concerts throughout Europe and North America. His solo guitar music is featured on the albums Night Guitar (2012) and Äventyr (2022).
“Anders Nilsson, a guitarist-composer comfortable with everything from free improvisation to avant-garde metal, celebrates a fine recent solo effort, Night Guitar, that traverses ghostly mood-setting, bluesy twang and overdriven riffage.” – Time Out, New York.
His own band Hesa Gun features his own compositions together with Sam Kulik – trombone, David Ambrosio- bass, Vinnie Sperazza – drums. He plays on over 40 albums and has performed and/or recorded with many artists such as Mohsen Namjoo, Gordon Beeferman, Jason Kao Hwang, Kalabalik, Paquito D’Rivera, Elliott Sharp, Fay Victor, and Angelblood. Nilsson’s work as a composer has produced 100+ compositions ranging from brief to epic solo works to large experimental ensemble works, many of which have been released on several acclaimed albums. He has also written music for string quartet, short films, butoh dance performances and theatre.
DAVE AMBROSIO
For the past 25 years, David Ambrosio has been one of New York City’s finest freelance musicians and educators. His current working projects as a leader are CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE: Blue Note Records in the Progressive ‘60s, featuring Grammy nominated saxophonist Donny McCaslin and drumming legend Victor Lewis; and the David Ambrosio Trio, featuring saxophonist Loren Stillman. In addition to his own ensembles, he is the co-leader of the David Ambrosio/Russ Meissner Sextet, 40Twenty, and Grupo Los Santos, as well as being a part of many other groups including George Schuller’s Circle Wide, the Matt Renzi Trio, Eri Yamamoto Trio, and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra led by Ted Nash and Andy Farber. He has performed with such jazz greats as Kenny Werner, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, George Garzone, Joseph Jarmon, and Ralph Alessi.
David’s third recording as leader, Four on the Road (Fresh Sound Records, 2018), was praised as “Swinging brilliance in the light of interactive engagement, creating music that challenges while remaining largely accessible” by Dan Bilawsky of All About Jazz.
With degrees in classical composition and jazz performance, David has a broad musical palate that has become even more intensified by his extensive travel experiences. In 2001 he had the opportunity to perform in Cuba with Grupo Los Santos, Max Pollack’s Rumbatap, as well as numerous local Afro/Cuban folkloric music and dance ensembles. Not long after, he began what has become a 14-year period of intense study of Afro/Cuban Bata drumming with master drummers Miguel Bernal, Carlos Gomez, and Carlos Aldama.
David has also frequently toured in Central and South East Asia on behalf of the US State Department as a performer and clinician. Currently he is on the faculty at Hunter College and the New York Jazz Workshop in NYC.
DAN KURFIRST
Dan Kurfirst is an NYC based percussionist, composer and improviser. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, his music is a product of his good fortune to have been brought up amongst people of all different cultures and master practitioners of varying musical styles.
He has performed extensively in the New York City world music and improvised music scenes for years and has performed with various groups throughout Europe, India and the Middle East. Venues performed at include The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Stone, OkeeChobee Festival, Roulette, Alwan for the Arts, Nublu, Rabindra Sadan Cultural Center of Kolkata, Barbes and The Vision Festival.
He has lectured at Columbia University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Rabindra Sadan Nandan Campus(India) and the New York City Public School System.
Over the years Dan has been blessed to work amongst some of the world’s most creative musicians, including Matt Darriau, Cheick Hamala Diabate, Tom Chess, Hamid Drake, Adam Rudolph, Oruc Guvenc, Noam Vazana, Neda Zaharaie, Daniel Carter, Brad Shepik, Gabriel Marin, William Parker, Daro Behroozi, Brandon Terzic, Kane Mathis and Ras Moshe – to name just a few.
As a drummer/composer, Dan leads Spheric Sound Unit, a group dedicated to exploring cultural syncretism through music. He also co-leads Ensemble Fanaa, a trio which explores the intersection between African American, North African and Middle Eastern musical traditions.
He recently worked as Musical Director for the Childrens Museum of Manhattan’s America To Zanzibar exhibit, helping to develop a touchscreen application for the Children to explore music of the Islamic world from India to Egypt to Indonesia.
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Connection Works is an artist-run non-profit organization (501c3) that engages the Brooklyn community with world-class jazz performances and educational events. Our programs promote and facilitate new work by established and up-and-coming artists alike. We provide a forum that supports the astonishing number of brilliant artists in our borough. We at Connection Works believe in and encourage the practice of creativity as a means to nourish the mind, body, and spirit.
Connection Works’ Wide Open Works (WOW) concert series provides Brooklyn with events meriting large-scale international attention, maintaining the highest standards in performance and education, presented in a community-based format.
Musicians that have performed at Connection Works events include:
Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Billy Hart, John Abercrombie, Sheila Jordan, Cameron Brown, Scott Colley, Vic Juris, Barry Altschul, Tony Marino, Marko Marcinko, Matt Darriau, Anat Cohen, Howard Alden, Theo Bleckmann, Jon Irabagon, Christopher McBride, Joe Fonda, Wycliffe Gordon, Steve Coleman, Gene Bertoncini, Dafnis Prieto, Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard, Dave Valentine, Scott Robinson, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Jerome Harris, Tony Malaby, Nasheet Waits, John Hebert, Loren Stillman, Bill McHenry, Chris Lightcap, Angelica Sanchez, Tom Rainey, Dan Tepfer, Noah Preminger, Charlie Burnham, Kris Davis, Kim Cass, Steve Cardenas, Mara Rosenbloom, Joe Martin, Dan Weiss, Avishai Cohen, Jean Rohe, Manuel Valera, Hans Glawishnig, Chris Tarry, Lonnie Plaxico, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Marty Ehrlich, Mariel Roberts, Olivia De Prato, Massimo Biolcati, Rodney Green, Judi Silvano, Michael Formanek, Anna Webber, Charlotte Greve, Elias Stemeseder, Jesse Elder, Savannah Harris, Michael Olatuja, Gerry Hemingway, Bill O’Connell, Myra Casales, Kyoko Kitamura, Scott Lee, Gary Versace, Jeff Hirshfield, Andrew Rathburn, Jonathan Finlayson, Tim Albright, Jen Shyu, Miles Okazaki, Shane Endsley, Nir Felder, Briggan Krauss, Masa Kamaguchi, Matt Pavolka, Nate Radley, Roland Schneider, Joel Frahm, Kenny Wessel, Jim Whitney, Yosvany Terry, Osmany Peredes, Obed Calvaire, Vince Giordano, Peck Allmond, Barney McAll, Aaron Diehl, Zaid Shukri, Joel Harrison, Fima Ephron, Jordan Perlson, Tareq Abboushi, Zafer Tawil, Barry Bryson, Herb Gardiner, Jack Stucky, Dave Ambrosio, Matt Renzi, Angelica Sanchez, Anders Nilsson, Nicki Denner, Anton Denner, Andrew Rathbun, Jennifer Vincent, Willie Martinez, Jorge Maldonado, Mark Miller, Christelle Durandy, Brahim Fribgane, Tony Romano, Adam Kolker, Joe Fitzgerald, Ben Monder, Adam Rudolph, Matt Wilson, Paul Sikivie, Jeff Lederer, Gilad Heckselman, Marcus Gilmore, Dave Scott, Gary Wang, Peter Apfelbaum, Patrice Blanchard, David Phelps, Ben Kono, Jeremy Viner, Dan Willis, Bohdan Hilash, Rob Hudson, Mike Christianson, Jacob Garchik, Jeff Nelson, Jon Owens, Tony Kadleck, Dave Ballou, Laurie Frink, Kermit Driscoll, John Hollenbeck, Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry, J.C. Sanford, Chris Dingman, John Replogle, Dave Smith, Jay Gandhi, Samir Gupta, Abhik Mukherjee, John McNeil, Howard Johnson, Vicente Hansen Atria, Lolly Bienenfeld, Kenny Pexton, Jeremy Udden, Mark Small, Kenny Berger, Danny Weller, Tyson Stubelek, Ron Horton, Tim Horner, John O’Gallagher, Marc Mommaas, Scott Robinson, Nate Eklund, Alan Ferber, Mark Sherman, Frank Kimbrough, Martin Wind, Jason Lindner, Vincente Archer, Anthony Pinciotti, Daniel Kelly, Michel Gentile, Rob Garcia and many more.
Our advisory board includes Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Woody Allen, Bill de Blasio, Dan Zanes, Joel Thome, and David Gonzalez.
WOW is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council. Also, it is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC).
Our contributors include:
Aaron Copland Fund for Music
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
New York State Council on the Arts
Brooklyn Arts Council
Connection Works Contact:
Rob Garcia – Executive Director
917-273-7875